100% open source

Technical overview

Text messages and pictures use the Proteus protocol for end-to-end encryption. Proteus is based on the Axolotl ratchet and pre-keys that are optimized for mobile and multi-device messaging.

Voice and video calls use the WebRTC standard. More precisely, DTLS and KASE are used for key negotiation and authentication and SRTP is used for encrypted media transport. This means that voice calls are end-to-end encrypted with perfect forward secrecy enabled without compromising HD call quality.

Wire’s encryption works transparently in the background and doesn’t need to be activated — it’s always on. There’s no need to compromise security for usability or settle for missing features. Wire keeps everything private while avoiding the complexity that is common to other secure messengers.

Privacy

Swiss headquarters, EU servers

Fully compliant with the strict data protection laws in Switzerland and the European Union.

Detailed privacy white paper

We’re transparent about the data we collect, and what we use it for.

Simple Privacy Policy

We put privacy in simple terms that are easy for anyone to understand — not just for lawyers.

No phone number required

Register with an email address and share a unique username to connect with others. No address book access required either.

No profiling

Your privacy is our priority. Wire does not sell analytics or usage data to anyone.

No advertising

No ads, no banners, no popups, no takeovers – none of that.

Privacy by design

Wire's Privacy Policy is written to be easy to understand by anyone and we don't stop there – our privacy whitepaper has very detailed info not shared by any competitor.

We store only the data we need to make sure your conversations stay in sync across devices, to detect fraud and spam, and to troubleshoot customer issues.

Wire is fully GDPR compliant and helps its customers to deal with the requirements of GDPR. By encrypting all communication we ensure that no sensitive data is available to Wire as a 3rd party thus reducing the number of data processors a business needs to deal with.